TS 155 
.E38 
Copy 1 



ossioJie 



Leaks & L©s 




Possible 

Leaks and Losses 

In 

Manufacturing 



Contributed by Students of 

INDIANA & OHIO DIVISION 

OF 

EMERSON EFFICIENCY INSTITUTION 



Published by R. E. PALMER 

410-411 Marion National Bank Bldg. Marion, Ind. 



TS155 



Copyright 1918 by R. E. PALMER 



©CI.A492243 

FEB II 1918 



PREFACE. . 

This little book is presented to the public, not as a 
gentle reminder, but as a bee in your bonnet, to cause 
you to wake up to the opportunities your business pre- 
sents to YOU, if you take advantage of the suggestions 
h within and apply them. The contents of this book is to 

show you the weak places and the small drains that 
your business is undergoing without your realization. 
It is no anesthetic under which you can retire to your 
office chair and lose yourself in dreams — It is an ap- 
plication or induction of PEP that wakes you up to 
activity so you may see and rectify your mistakes and 
thereby reap double profits. 

This little work is the product of several hundred 
earnest students of the Business Principles of Effi- 
ciency. They have worked out lists of possible Leaks 
and Losses, and from these we have evolved the best 
and most general ones. We have taken those which we 
feel every individual MAY discover in his own particu- 
lar work, or that of his employer. 

By watching for these, and seeking to avoid them 
by the simple application of the thirteen principles of 
Efficiency taught by the EMERSON INSTITUTE, we 
hope our work will have accomplished some good. 

R. E. PALMER. 
Marion, Ind., Jan. 20, 1918. 



ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT 

1 Lack of co-operation with sales department in not 
advertising in district worked by salesmen. 

2 Advertising locally when goods are sold in outside 
territory. 

3 Poor judgment in selection of medium. 

4 Not doing enough. 

5 Lack of originality. 

6 Large expenditure and small returns. 

7 Lack of preparation of copy and scheme. 

8 Lack of proper ratio between ambunt of advertis- 
ing assistance offered by the manufacturer and 
the business received from, the customer. 

9 Unattractive literature. 

10 Poor distribution of literature. 

11 Exaggeration in advertising. 

12 Lack of knowledge of goods. 

13 Lack of proper records and data. 

14 Misrepresentation. 

15 Advertising a class of goods not suited to condition 
of territory. 

16 Advertising product before it is properly tried out. 

17 Buying novelties for distribution and failing to 
distribute them. 

18 Failure to increase advertising when business is 
good. 

19 Failure to submit proposed advertising schemes 
to heads of various departments to get their sug- 
gestions and criticisms. 

20 Advertising certain products in wrong season of 
the year. 

21 Duplicate advertising — two or more mediums 
reaching the same classes at the same time. 

22 Failure to send copy to printer or publisher in time 
for careful make-up. 

23 Inferior printing. 

24 No records showing relation between inquiries ob- 
tained and expenditures for advertising. 

25 Inadequate follow-up system. 

26 Inadequate records of working tools of advertis- 
ing, such as cuts, photographs, etc. Time lost in 
locating them. 

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27 No provision ntade to keep employes busy between 
advertising campaigns. 

28 Not considering postage required when planning 
circulars. 

29 Scattered rather than concentrated advertising. 

30 Lack of facts and appeal in advertising matter. 

31 Failure on part of advertising manager to use 
brief personal letter, right to the point, instead of 
long form letter in detail. 

32 Failure to compare results obtained through 
different mediums. 

33 Small concern trying to advertise as extensively 
as a large one. 

34 Failure to provide method whereby man interested 
may comjmunicate and request further data with- 
out much trouble. 

35 Matter too verbose, therefore not read. 

36 Not advertising far enough in advance of article 
placed on market. 

37 Failure to have typewriter ribbon "filling in" form 
letters of exactly the same color as body of letter. 



ADMINISTRATION 

1 Office material wasted. 

2 Incompetent help — Loafing. 

3 Lack of co-operation. 

4 Too much routine work done by higher salaried 
men instead of by subordinate clerks. 

5 Lack of discipline. 

6 Unsystematic filing of correspondence. 

7 Inefficient handling of mail — incoming, outgoing 
and routing within plant. 

8 Poor arrangement of office furniture or layout of 
office. 

9 Careless use of stationery and supplies or theft 
of same. 

10 Office men giving orders in shop. 

11 Improper voucher system. 

12 Not mailing statements on time. 

13 Errors in entries on books. 

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14 Tardiness in arriving at work. 

15 Faulty diction. 

16 Lack of equipment to facilitate the work-card 
indexes, etc. 

17 Office men pressing their requests for information 
on the other departments in person instead of let- 
ting them pass thru regular routine, thereby up- 
setting schedule of the department in question, 
and using up own time in waiting, which could be 
profitably used elsewhere. 

18 Departments not being arranged so as to reduce 
time of handling correspondence to minimum. 

19 Through dictated but not reread letters. 

20 Through unnecessary postage used on local mail 
matter. 

21 Purchasing cheap office supplies, such as pencils, 
etc., where a little more expensive materials would 
last much longer and give better service. 

22 Time-keeper not turning in correct time to cor- 
respond with time card. 

23 Giving too many jobs to telephone operator, so 
that she cannot give sufficient time and attention 
to switch board. 

24 Office boy having so many bosses to send him on 
errands, that he is never at his post when wanted. 

25 Office boy doing clerical work away from his post, 
for other departments. 

26 Lack of interchangeability of clerks on routine 
work in various departments or in same depart- 
ment. In time of rushed work, in one department, 
the condition could be helped if clerks from an- 
other department, not so busy, could be called in, 
providing they had familiarized themselves with 
the work. 

27 Not being ready to dictate when stenographer is 
called. 

28 Carelessness in use of office equipment. 

29 Failure to have organization chart. 

30 Lack of knowledge of shop conditions. 

31 Lack of assignment of duties and responsibilities 
to various departments. 

32 Office not located so as to be in close touch with 
factory. 

33 Lack of private or inner office where a party may 

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be taken and private business transacted, without 
the knowledge of entire office force. 

34 Too many long distance calls and telegrams. 

35 Neglecting to furnish addressed stickers with 
orders. 



ACCOUNTING AND COST DEPT. 

1 Not checking up cost on long runs at once — many 
times results in a big loss that could have been 
diminished. 

2 Some time is lost in accounting department be- 
cause cards are not properly made out before 
coming to this department. 

3 Sometimes the accounting department is not given 
orders for material and therefore cannot figure 
cost and much time is lost because they are not 
able to get the proper information. 

4 Inadequate cost records. 

5 Inaccurate or incompetent cost system due to 
various reasons — one being failure to keep it up 
to date, causing losses by failing to make alter- 
ations in cost sheets, to compensate for large in- 
crease in both labor and raw material. 

6 Failure to add sufficient overhead. 

7 Failure to distinguish between standard cost of 
an article and cost of same article due to accident 
or circumstances making it a special cost. 

8 Failure to point out to management any difference 
in cost of the same article from time to time and 
show underlying cause for this variation. 

9 Inaccurate records of waste and breakage. 

10 Too large and too flexible profit and loss account. 

11 Mathematical errors due to carelessness in figur- 
ing and checking. 

12 Clumsy filing system. 

13 Keeping cost by jobs instead of individual costs. 

14 Sending out invoices for machinery and especially 
repair parts based on costs more than a year old. 

15 Failure to check invoices properly to avoid pay- 
ment more than once. 

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16 Not making use of adding machines, comp- 
tometers, fountain pens, etc., to reduce time re- 
quired in various operations. 

17 Costs figured by estimating instead of getting ac- 
curate knowledge. 

18 Lack of checking system. 

19 Lack of correct sales record. 

20 Through insufficient package charges. 

21 Not keeping accounts posted in bookkeeping de- 
partment, causing trouble in traffic department, 
if shipments are made to firms who have already 
received their quota. 

22 Failure to relate financial and cost records. 

23 Not receiving full labor and material costs from 
factory. 

24 Lack of adequate records of overhead, depreciation 
and general expenses. 



BUILDINGS 

1 Faulty construction. 

2 Poor ventilation. 

3 Insufficient light. 

4 Poor heating system. 

5 Faulty wiring. 

6 Not suited for purpose used. 

7 Lack of prompt repairs. 

8 Failure to keep up proper repairs. 

9 Lack of sufficient floor space for character of work. 

10 Lack of sufficient room for goods in process and 
for finished goods. 

11 Burning lights, running water, and letting motors 
run when not necessary. 

12 Lack of sufficient elevators, stairways, to take care 
of traffic. 

13 Telephone placed too far from those who use it 
most. 

14 Poor arrangement of machinery, allowing vacant 
space. 

15 Improper lighting — causing bad work. 

16 Insufficient fire protection — high rate of insurance. 

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17 Floors not firm enough, causing too much vibra- 
tion, and wear on machinery resulting. 

18 Departments not arranged consecutively. 

19 Overloaded upper floors. 

20 Leaks in water pipes. 

21 Flimsy wooden partitions. 

22 Inflammable material lying around. 

23 Too small size of electric wire used to transmit 
power. 

24 Lack of sufficient insurance. 

25 Lack of switching facilities due to buildings being 
too far from railroad. 

26 Muddy walkways and approaches to building. 

27 Improper grouping of buildings. 



1— BUYING. 

1 Overbuying. 

2 Underbuying. 

3 Not getting competitive bids or prices. 

4 Not ordering soon enough to prevent express ship- 
ments. 

5 Not having goods on hand when needed. 

6 Buying in small lots, or from hand to mouth, in- 
stead of getting quantity prices. 

7 Buying poor grade material for high class work. 

8 Lack of standards as to amount of material 
required in various departments. 

9 Insufficient knowledge of value and correct prices. 

10 Buying because of friendship regardless of cost. 

11 Not being posted on market prices and values. 

12 Buying thru dealers when material can be had 
direct. 

13 Failure to consult competent counsel — viz. Men 
in various departments who have technical or 
practical knowledge of best material or equipment 
for given use. 

14 Lack of ability to discriminate between hot air 
and real facts. 

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15 Unwillingness to learn from salesmen. 

16 Lack of foresight in purchasing material. 

17 Buying from houses with no established credit. 

18 Asking for deliveries not required — thus carrying 
material in stock longer than necessary. 

19 Failure to take advantage of knowledge of trade 
conditions imparted by salesmen. 

20 Buying raw material on open market. 

21 Not taking advantage of contract rather than 
scattered buying. 

22 Purchasing warehouse stocks for short dates when 
factory stocks would do. 

23 Habit of buying from one concern and not com- 
paring values and prices of others each time. 

24 Buying material that could be produced in own 
plant at better advantage and vice versa. 

25 Buying material too costly in proportion to fin- 
ished article. 

26 Failure to buy coal on analysis. 

27 Buying from a distance, when material can be 
bought closer home at same price. Delays in 
transportation, etc. 

2— RECEIVING. 

1 Not checking goods with invoice. 

2 Not putting claim for damaged goods. 

3 The purchasing department failing to specify 
where material ordered is to go other than for 
stock, causing loss of time for stockkeeper. 

4 Not having proper records of express, freight, or 
carriage costs that should be billed to customer. 

5 Goods not given proper care when received. 

6 Not checking as to specifications. 

7 Goods not put in stock room when received. 

8 Not marking B-L as to damaged goods. 

9 Not keeping records of goods received. 

10 Receiving material by express and not notifying 
proper department at once. 

11 Failure to keep tab on what material is on the way 
and when it was shipped, thus being unable to 
anticipate requirements and location for unload- 
ing and providing necessary space. 

12 Overlooking parts in packing material. 

13 Breakage from careless packing. 

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14 Failure to thoroughly unload cars of incoming raw 
materials. 

15 Carelessness in unloading equipment. 

16 Lack of prearranged system as to location of in- 
coming products. 

17 Inadequate inspection of incoming materials. 



DEALINGS WITH CUSTOMERS 

1 Adopting the policy of "Customer is always 
wrong/' instead of "Customer is always right." 

2 Failure to keep promise to customer as to quality, 
price and date of shipment. 

3 Failure to send B-L and invoice at time of ship- 
ment. 

4 Failure to comply with customer's instructions as 
to routing, marking, etc. 

5 Selling concerns with doubtful credit. 

6 Giving too long dating on bills. 

7 Failure to answer correspondence promptly. 

8 Shipping much inferior grade than customer or- 
dered, which necessitates re-shipment and post- 
pones receipt of purchase price from customer. 

9 Lack of standard policy for dealing with trade, 
causing loss of business. 

10 Lack of adequate and reliable records of all deal- 
ings and correspondence with customers. 

11 Not giving attention to shortage and other com- 
plaints at proper time. 

12 Failure to adjust all fair claims. 

13 Not exercising care in regard to discounts. 

14 Not being able to check shortage reported. 

15 Trying to make sales instead of customers — Prom- 
ising impossible deliveries. 

16 Carelessness as to language in business corres- 
pondence — writing over the head of the customer. 

17 Lack of promptness in answering inquiries or 
complaints and rectifying mistakes. 

18 Failure to grasp customer's point of view. 

19 Failure to get knowledge of customer's personality 
which is usually available by consulting salesmen 
who cover his territory. 

20 Discourtesy. 

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EQUIPMENT 

1 Lack of prompt repairs. 

2 Inefficient use of (Inexperienced operators). 

3 Inefficient use of (Performing operations that 
could be more quickly and cheaply performed on 
some machine other than one used). 

4 Careless alignment of machines. 

5 Lack of standard equipment — that repairs may be 
interchangeable. 

6 No stock of parts subject to breakage kept on 
hand. 

7 Inefficient crane service. 

8 Lack of sufficient safety devices. 

9 Lack of regular and careful inspection of equip- 
ment. 

10 Lack of trucking facilities (Motor trucks, etc.) 

11 Not knowing exact location of fire equipment — 
Lack of fire drills. 

12 Insufficient or too much lubrication — or bad 
quality. 

13 Lack of adequate equipment. 

14 Equipment out of date. 

15 Insufficient conveniences for sanitation, drinking 
water, etc., causing loss of time. 

16 Insufficient fuel and power. 

17 Idle equipment. 

18 Machinery not kept running full capacity or full 
speed. 

19 No test or check on productive efficiency of equip- 
ment at regular intervals. 

20 No accurate check on depreciation of equipment. 

21 Unsystematic expansion. 

22 Overloading machines. 

23 Loss of power through faulty belting. 

24 No test on machines as to power required and 
consumed. 

25 Not salvaging discarded machinery. 

26 Lack of first aid equipment. 

27 Lack of telephone facilities in all departments. 

28 Lack of a full line of emergency equipment. 

29 Transmission losses — power, steam and air. 

30 Lack of wire guards around electric light bulbs. 

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1 Faulty collection system. 

2 No established credit. 

3 Poor investments. 

4 Manufacturing without plenty of capital. 

5 Unjustified expansion. 

6 Buying unsuitable or antiquated equipment. 

7 Allowing notes to go to protest. 

8 Insufficient working capital. 

9 Unnecessary interest burdens. 

10 Over-capitalization. 

11 Failure to establish proper conditions on open 
accounts. 

12 Failure to charge off proper depreciation. 

13 Failure to take advantage of discounts. 

14 Over-secretiveness — failure to establish a rating. 

15 Neglect of timely collections. 

16 Lack of strong business connections. 

17 Lack of organization which would merit credit. 

18 Dishonesty of those handling funds. 

19 Failure to watch money market. 

20 Failure to watch also the pulse of other markets. 

21 Worthless securities as surety. 

22 Doing business with unsound banks. 

23 Failure to receive credit for goods returned. 

24 Failure to keep accurate records of payments 
made so as to avoid more than one settlement. 

25 Allowance of undeserved cash discounts. 

26 Sinking funds not drawing maximum obtainable 
interests. 

27 Failure to carry adequate liability insurance. 

28 Failure to so organize as to know in advance the 
approximate net profits of the business. 

29 Neglect of bookkeeper in sending out statements 
of past due accounts. 



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GOODS THEMSELVES 

1 Poor designing. 

2 Bad workmanship. 

3 Many times cheaper material could be substituted 
without decreasing the quality. 

4 Not having proper place to store finished goods 
awaiting shipment, causing loss of material or 
total loss of production. 

5 Overproduction of models. 

6 Changes in operations or half schedule when 
changes are necessary in tasks set before the 
workman, the real reason should be investigated 
in order to reduce if possible to the minimum. 

7 Obsolete styles. 

8 Careless handling. 

9 Exposure from leaking roofs, paneless windows, 
etc. 

10 Petty (or otherwise) thefts. 

11 Defective material, workmanship, or assembly. 

12 Unattractive in appearance. 

13 Goods returned — lack of thorough inspection be- 
fore shipping. 

14 Neglecting QUALITY for QUANTITY. 

15 Not being up to advertised standard. 



1— RAW 

1 Loss through lack of standards. 
.2 Loss through lack of shelter. 

3 Loss through thieving. 

4 Careless handling. 

5 "Spoiled" batches. 

6 By not providing credit upon return of defective 
material. 

7 No up-to-date stock list available with copies on 
file in each department — These copies should be 
revised at regular intervals. 

% No record of various lengths as well as size and 

weight of material in stock. 
X) Lack of definite records showing chemical analysis 

of material best suited for various products. 

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2— WORKED 

1 Poor system of transferring between departments. 

2 Loss thru lack of standards. 

3 Scrapping spoiled materials instead of using on 
other work. 

4 Loss thru lack of schedule showing how material 
is to be utilized with least waste. 

5 Faulty work due to material — Managers fail to 
realize how easy it is to waste money improving 
material — The loss is greater than is appreciated 
— Can't make a good product from poor material. 

6 Incorrect drawing instructions or ability of work- 
man to understand instructions. 

7 Introduction of inferior material at some point in 
process. 

8 Incorrect treatment in process of production. 

9 No accurate check on material used and mater- 
ials returned to stock. 

10 Failure to specify proper material used on each 
respective job. 

3— FINISHED. 

1 Not using surplus material. 

2 Leaving barrels, boxes, and containers in scrap 
heap at mercy of elements instead of collecting 
and selling them. 

3 Thieving. 

4 Physical injury. 

5 Loss by action of elements or foreign additions. 

6 Long storage. 

7 Lack of stock records of finished goods. 

8 Goods returned but not refinished before being 
sent out again for use. 

9 Failure to bale and sell scrap paper. 



MANAGEMENT 

Executives use telephone too little and do too 
much running around. 

Failure of foreman or department head to leave 
knowledge of his whereabouts with some one in 

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his department. 

3 Failure to anticipate changes in machinery or 
tools to suit changes in product. 

4 Improper classification of supervision. 

5 Conflicting authority. 

6 Failure of foreman or other executives to discuss 
work under consideration with their superiors. 

7 Failure to allow sufficient time for cleaning ma- 
chines and equipment. 

8 Failure of management to require that heads of 
departments keep up-to-date on all improvements 
concerning their jobs. 

9 Lack of definite and stated time properly sched- 
uled for department conference. 

10 Failure to train men to handle the work if their 
superiors are out or absent. 

11 Failure to make regulations that certain opera- 
tions on certain kinds of work be made on certain 
definite machines. 

12 Lack of sufficient repair gang so that machine and 
workmen are not allowed to remain idle longer 
than absolute minimum. 

13 Delegated authority minus responsibility and vice 
versa. 

14 Lack of place for equipment until after arrival of 
same. 

15 Starting too many jobs at once. 

16 Failure to acquaint department heads with policy. 

17 Failure to send out employees on inspection trips 
for educating them for certain work to be pro- 
duced. 

18 Lack of co-operation between management and 
employees. 

19 Being too familiar with employees. 

20 Keeping a man on the job after repeated failures. 

21 Having more men on a job than necessary. 

22 Lack of records of spoiled work — as to person re- 
sponsible. 

23 Allowing workman to be careless, by permitting 
workman in one department to wait on work from 
another. 

24 By shifting workman from one kind of work to 
another. 

25 Not planning work for enough ahead. 

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26 Loss of time in teaching new men. 

27 Improper assignment of tasks — Ex. Putting a 35c 
man on work that a 12^c boy could do as well. 

28 Not placing men on work for which they are es- 
pecially fitted. 

29 Not having records as to Work done in each oper- 
ation. 

30 Using verbal instead of written orders. 

31 Not making orders or instructions clear. 

32 Having records that are not easily accessible. 

33 Letting orders get into the shop without going 
thru the office. 

34 Orders issued to department after work is com- 
pleted shows lack of planning. 

35 Not getting confidence of men by having them 
come with questions concerning their work, there- 
by eliminating many errors. 

36 Employing poor class of workman for heavy work, 
sometimes causes breakage, therefore shortage of 
material and holding up production. 

37 Not having understudies to take up the work when 
men higher up are promoted. 

38 Poor workmanship due to careless management. 

39 Having wrong theory of manufacturing — Some 
operate on the theory of getting out a number of 
units some weeks, instead of at the rate of a num- 
ber of units each week. There is a decided differ- 
ence between the two theories. The former might 
mean a few units the first of the week, and a load 
the end of the week, causing night and Sunday 
work to finish the week's quota. 

40 Having foremen who do not know how to handle 
men the best, easiest and quickest way. 

41 Inefficiency of management. Inefficiency beyond 
the control of the workman should be closely 
watched. 

42 Keeping inefficient employes on the pay-roll. 

43 Too large or too small advertising appropriation. 

44 Too many people detailed to do the same thing. 

45 Postponement of necessary things. 

46 Tendency to criticize unnecessarily. 

47 Not planning successive jobs of a workman that 
material and tools will be on hand when he is 
ready to start on next job. 

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48 Lack of regular meetings for heads of depart- 
ments to discuss important matters. 

49 Lack of broad-mindedness in not delegating super- 
vision to understudies, but heads trying to handle 
all details themselves. 

50 Having men with technical knowledge but no ex- 
ecutive ability with it. 

51 Lack of comprehensive reports from department 
heads. 

52 Dealing in details rather than fundamentals. 

53 Not investigating new methods and ways of doing 
work. 

54 Failure to give useful man a sick leave of absence. 

55 Lack of scratch pads throughout factory instead 
of using printed stationery. 

56 Hiring employes because of friendship alone. 

57 Lack of knowledge of maximum capacity of the 
factory. 

58 Overpaying one man because of some "pull" and 
underpaying another to keep down expenses. 

59 Inefficient time system for factory. 

60 Failure to patent new designs. 

61 Management allowing salesman to spend excess 
time in home office. 

62 Showing partiality. 

63 Allowing employees to form habit of drawing 
money all thru the week whenever they wish it. 

64 Allowing employees to eat lunch where intoxicat- 
ing liquors are handy. 

65 Observance of seniority rule instead of promoting 
according to merit. 

66 Attempting things that a competitor can do, with- 
out regards for common sense. 

67 Inadequate janitor service. 

68 Not exercising EDUCATIONAL supervision. 

69 Not divorcing planning from performance. 

70 Not teaching loyalty. 

71 Preaching co-operation and not knowing specifical- 
ly of what it consists or how to get it. 

72 Standard methods of operation changed without 
all supervision concerned being notified. 

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PRODUCTION 

1 Bad handling of goods between departments. 

2 Goods ready for shipment held in stock room too 
long. 

3 Poor system of inspection. 

4 Allowing goods not up to standard to go into stock. 

5 Lack of W. S. P. I. 

6 Lack of discipline — shown in workman starting 
to work late and quitting early. 

7 Inferior workmanship. 

8 Defective work not found until passed through 
several operations — improper inspection. 

9 Lack of sufficient help in some departments — an 
unbalanced force. 

10 Loss of time in getting machines ready too many 
times a day — lack of planning. 

11 Careless handling. 

12 Lack of standards. 

13 Material not coming in at the same rate of pro- 
duction — causes delay in handling if coming in 
too large quantities. 

14 A man who is worth from forty to fifty cents per 
hour going to stock room for supplies when a boy 
worth twenty cents will eliminate any such trips 
and tend to increase production. 

15 Turning out poor work that will be rejected. Re- 
jected work is the worst kind of waste and to elim- 
inate this waste will mean a greater production. 

16 Failure to get orders from shop as to what is 
wanted first, and failing to get this information at 
right time. 

17 Much time is lost in taking frequent inventories, 
when a perpetual inventory should be kept. 

18 Lack of production caused by failure to plan and 
schedule day's work ahead. 

19 Lack of records of machines available for any job. 

20 Lack of knowledge of what output of any equip- 
ment should be. 

21 Lack of records of work a man can put out. 

22 Waste of raw material — contamination, injury, 
and loss of portions of raw material. 

23 Excessive piece-work rates. 

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24 Low speed of production. 

25 Layout of shop making for uneconomical handling. 

26 Loss of material through inferior workmanship or 
careless handling. 

27 Unnecessary motions in carrying work through 
shop. 

28 Lack of planning and scheduling causing assem- 
bler to wait for parts. 

29 Doing work by hand that could be done more eco- 
nomically by machine. 

30 Goods made from memory rather than from speci- 
fications. 

31 Lack of co-operation with office departments. 

32 Failure to have correct stock in proper amounts 
provided. 

33 Finished and unfinished stock in way of workmen. 

34 Lack of competitive spirit. 

35 Superintendent of production not having sufficient 
authority to execute his orders for more econom- 
ical production. 

36 Men not being notified of changes made in ma- 
chinery used in manufacturing. 

37 Taking material from one order to apply to an- 
other. 

38 Janitor cleaning up during working hours. 

39 Failure to provide cheaper help to keep waste ma- 
terial out of way of workmen. 

40 Labor waste caused by day and night supervision 
not consulting each other. 

41 Labor loss because foreman lacks knowledge of 
standard output of man or machine. 

42 Quality sacrificed for speed. 

43 Loss of time, labor and materials in inefficient as- 
signment of men to jobs. 

44 Lack of fatigue eliminators, such as high stools, 
foot rests, etc. 



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SHIPPING DEPARTMENT 

1 Incomplete filling of orders. 

2 Errors in filling orders or directing shipment. 

3 Insufficient packing. 

4 Bad handling of goods. 

5 Lack of records to show: 

1 Goods shipped. 

2 Orders partly filled. 

3 Substitutions— Why? 

4 Notice to sales department. 

6 Making a poor or unwise substitution. 

7 Not accurately and carefully routing a shipment. 

8 Improper or utter lack of labeling. 

9 Not utilizing car space properly. 

10 Demurrage bills, caused by not loading and un- 
loading promptly. 

11 Packing cases poorly designed. 

12 Sending long time orders by express. 

13 Wrong classification. 

14 Inefficient trucking and draying. 

15 Delayed shipments — Failure to ship When prom- 
ised is always detrimental to success. A reputa- 
tion for prompt delivery is the desire of every con- 
cern, and the rule is to watch this in order to re- 
tain the good will of the trade. 

16 Shipments of small lots, causing extra carriage 
charges. 

17 Deterioration of goods on shelves. 

18 Packing goods in cases and not checking on orders. 

19 Marking cases incorrectly. 

20 Not shipping as requested by customer. 

21 Too many substitutions. 

22 No accurate record of best size of load for maxi- 
mum efficiency of each team or hauling unit. 

23 Failure to have units returned to plant with load 
when possible. 

24 Failure to record the time of spotting and unload- 
ing each car. 

25 Failure to report shortages or breakages, account 
of carelessness in handling by freight employes. 

26 Failure to cultivate friendly relations with rail- 
road men. 

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27 Not having cars ordered far enough ahead to have 
when needed. 

28 Routing "RUSH" orders to save rate instead of 
time. 

29 Lack of knowledge as to embargos and all varying 
conditions affecting delivery; of freight and ex- 
press rates. 

30 Lack of information as to train schedules; sizes 
and capacities of different cars. 

31 Lack of knowledge of INTERSTATE COMMERCE 
laws and conditions. 

32 Lack of planning and scheduling shipments on 
time. 

33 Through misunderstood orders, filled according to 
employees idea. 

34 Through incomplete address of consignee, causing 
storage or hauling charges. 

35 Delay in billing shipments. 

36 Excessive or insufficient quantities of dozens to 
barrels, causing claims for breakage and conse- 
quent allowances or credits. 

37 Shipping too much on Saturday (half holiday) and 
not enough on Monday to keep men busy. Result 
— dissatisfaction. 

38 Using big auto truck to haul light loads. 



SALES DEPARTMENT 

1 Not keeping in close touch with salesmen. 

2 Deviating from policy "One price to all." 

3 Not furnishing salesmen with facts pertaining to 
good points of products. 

4 Lack of W. S. P. I. 

5 Not teaching salesmen how and when to close. 

6 Uninteresting letters to salesmen and customers. 

7 Not properly planning trips of salesmen. 

8 Lack of adequate follow-up system. 

9 Lack of knowledge of complete line. 

10 Failing to develop new fields for new product. 

11 Changing standard product to suit wishes of cus- 
tomer. 

12 Lack of proper effort of salesmen to sell standard 
line. 

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13 Lack of training sales department in fundamen- 
tals of different sales language. 

14 Lack of testing out sales campaign before oper- 
ating on large scale. 

15 Lack of proper records. 

16 Inaccuracy in keeping records. 

17 Failure to make full use of records. 

18 Carelessness in inspection of orders received. 

19 Lack of co-operation between sales department 
and sales force. 

20 Failure to observe customer's point of view. 

21 Overselling some numbers — dissatisfied customer. 

22 Not pushing sales of other numbers — overstocked. 

23 Lack of regular system of training understudies 
or men from various departments of plant to be- 
come salesmen. 

24 Tying a salesman too closely to a set of rules and 
regulations rather than allowing him to exercise 
his own originality. 

25 Putting more stress on increasing new business 
and getting new customers than on keeping the 
business and customers you already have. 

26 Lack of system for noting increase or decrease in 
sales. 

27 Permitting one salesman to encroach upon an- 
other's territory, causing mix-up in quotations. 

28 Failure to keep salesmen posted on shop condi- 
tions, market conditions, price changes, etc. 

29 Inability to keep entire line before salesmen intel- 
ligently. 

30 Lack of proper training of salesmen. 

31 Badly arranged territory, wasting time and 
money. 

32 Failure to keep records to show the relation be- 
tween the possible sales in a certain territory and 
actual sales. 

33 Not keeping salesmen in touch with modern meth- 
ods of selling. 

34 Lack of definite policy, plan and schedule for sales. 

35 Through quotations differing widely from com- 
petitors. 

36 Through carelessness in receiving and writing up 
orders. 

37 Selling customers with no credit rating. 

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38 Selling more goods than can be made within the 
specified time. 

39 Sales department not consulting production de- 
partment regarding taking of new business. 

40 Failure to observe trend of public opinion. 

41 Failure to investigate demand for article to be sold. 

42 Lack of number for sales order, to facilitate trac- 
ing it through the factory. 

43 Failure to maintain sales at quantities for proper 
manufacturing basis. 



SALES FORCE 

1 Lack of courtesy. 

2 Lack of initiative. 

3 Lack of adequate records sent to house. 

4 Not properly planning correspondence and visits 
to customers after inquiries are received. 

5 Salesmen not taking proper care of health. 

6 Salesmen that do not make some report of selling 
conditions in their territory. 

7 Large expense accounts. 

8 Covering territory too fast or too slow. 

9 Failure to secure orders on first visit because of 
cold feet. 

10 Inaccuracy in quoting prices. 

11 Failure to secure well balanced orders, represen- 
tative of line. 

12 Failure to keep good will of customer. 

13 Lack of interest in goods sold. 

14 Ignorance of customer's needs. 

15 Carelessness in personal appearance. 

16 Lack of technical knowledge of goods they are 
selling. 

17 Failure of salesmen to keep price list and changes 
in product checked up-to-date. 

18 Lack of observance of small details of customer's 
order. 

19 Selling a customer something he does not want, 
or does not meet his needs. 

20 Salesmen carrying side line without permission. 

21 Employing salesmen who are intemperate. 

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22 Lack of co-operation between salesmen and man- 
agement. 

23 Too large sales force for amount of business. 

24 Quoting prices on special work without consulting 
engineering department. 

25 Failure to encourage salesmen to increase their 
sales. 

26 Lack of confidence in company. 

27 Salesmen not keeping records. 

28 Failure of salesman to keep appointments. 

29 Selling anything the customer wants, not what 
the company makes. 

30 Quitting with ten calls per day wnen twelve or 
fifteen should be made. 

31 Spending time making sale to parties who are later 
found to be not responsible financially. 

32 Distribution of catalogs to persons not at all likely 
to buy. 

33 Actual sales to persons unable to pay. 

34 Not trained up through plant. 

35 Failure to investigate customer so far as possible 
before long and expensive trip is made. 

36 Lack of complete and adequate system for re- 
porting work actually accomplished, in transit, in 
prospect, together with expenses incurred. 

TOOLS 

1 Theft of. 

2 Improper. 

3 Poorly kept or no records. 

4 Failure to place responsibility on employee for 
care and use of. 

5 Disregard for salvage on tools. 

6 Inexperienced grinding of tools. 

7 Improper location and source of supply. 

8 Failure to return broken for new. 

9 Lack of classification. 

10 Lack of records of the life of tools of various ma- 
terials under different conditions. 

11 Failure to examine tools, properly sharpen them 
or put them in good working condition when re- 
turned to the tool room. 

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12 Attempting fine work with poor grade of tools. 

13 Tools not properly designed and constructed. 

14 Not having some person who is responsible for 
up-keep. 

15 Lack of regular place to keep them. 

16 Improper tools for repairing machinery. 

17 Lack of sufficient tools on hand to meet emergency 
of producing several similar operations at the 
same time. 

18 Lack of identification. 

19 Lack of requisition system for tools given out. 

20 Lack of records of tools broken. 



WORKING FORCE 

1 Absence caused by some form of dissipation or 
excessive pleasure over week-end. 

2 Discontented workman. 

3 Workman taking tools and supplies from tool room 
without authority and not returning them. 

4 Upsetting department by getting more supplies 
than is required for one job. 

5 Visiting other departments needlessly. 

6 Loss of time waiting for work, foreman or in- 
spector. 

7 Not working close enough to specifications. 

8 Petty pilfering of tools, material, etc. 

9 Neglecting to report shortage of material at once. 

10 Transaction of personal business during working 
hours. 

11 Getting to work late and leaving early. 

12 Foreman or high priced man doing work that 
should be done by subordinate. 

13 Girls on day work loafing — not turning out as 
much work as they are capable of doing. 

14 Neglecting work on machines, causing bad work. 

15 Improper handling of work, allowing it to become 
soiled. 

16 Piece-workers keeping production at a certain 
amount when able to turn out a greater amount. 

17 Waste in use of material. 

18 Inefficient methods. 

19 Lack of loyalty to employers. 

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20 Lack of system or standards to measure the ability 
of employees and place them to best advantage. 

21 Lack of records of ability and training of em- 
ployes. 

22 Idling on the job due to: 

1 Carelessness. 

2 Laziness. 

3 Poor ventilation. 

4 Lack of pride. 

23 Failure to adopt suggestions of, and encourage in- 
itiative in workmen. 

24 Lack of impartial committee to consider com- 
plaints and grievances of workmen. 

25 Permitting men to wash up, etc., before the whis- 
tle blows at noon or evening. 

26 Producer doing work of factory clerks. 

27 Turnover loss. 

28 Failure to report needed supplies and repairs. 

29 Permitting employees to punch one another's time 
cards. 

30 Lack of rest periods decreases production. 

31 Failure to encourage employees to forge ahead. 

32 Lack of spirit of accomplishment or contest. 

33 Improper or lack of betterment facilities. 

34 Individual effort rather than departmental or com- 
bined effort. 

35 Personal use of company property. 

36 Smoking on company time. 

37 Over-indulgence in intoxicants. 

38 Lack of card index file with cards upon which is 
written each employee's name, address, phone 
number, nationality, etc. 

39 Discarding coal from heating furnaces which has 
been only partially burned. 

40 Lack of proper mental attitude and interest in 
Work. 

41 Lack of proper stimulus and credit system for in- 
ventions and suggestions of employees which may 
be successfully used or utilized. 

42 Men holding back on the job they may be doing to 
let some other fellow get the job ahead, which 
they do not like. 

43 Standard operations changed without authority. 

44 Forgetting to do things. 

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